Alexander-Nevsky
Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky was the Prince of Novgorod, the Grand Prince of Kiev, and the Grand Prince of Vladimir. He was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church and is regarded as a great leader by the Russian people. He has been the subject of books and films and is engrained in Russian memory as an important figure who saved Russia during a severe crisis. Indeed, he is still used as a patriotic figure in Russia today.
Alexander Nevsky was a Russian prince and military hero who played a significant role in the history of medieval Russia. He is best known for his leadership in defending the Russian lands from foreign invaders, particularly the Swedes and the Teutonic Knights during the 13th century. At Battle of the Neva (1240) Nevsky defeated a Swedish invasion force on the banks of the Neva River, earning him the title "Nevsky." And in the Battle on the Ice (1242), he led Russian forces against the Teutonic Knights on the frozen Lake Peipus, securing a decisive victory. He was born on May 13, 1221 (presumably) in the city of Pereyaslavl (now Pereslavl-Zalessky, Yaroslavl region). His father was the Prince of Pereyaslavl (later the Grand Prince of Kiev and Vladimir) Yaroslav Vsevolodovich (in baptism - Fyodor), his mother was Princess Rostislava (in baptism Feodosia), the daughter of the Prince of Toropetsk Mstislav Mstislavich the Bold. Alexander was the second eldest son; there were nine children in the family.
The exact date of birth of Alexander Yaroslavich is unknown. The first mention of him in the chronicles dates back only to 1228. Therefore, historians calculate the day of birth of the prince by indirect signs. In particular, attention is drawn to the fact that Yaroslav's eldest son Fyodor (born in 1219 or 1220) is first mentioned in the chronicle as an independent person and then acts exclusively together with Alexander. From this it follows that there was not a big difference in age between the brothers. It is believed that it was a year.
In addition, when determining the year of birth, the date of the celebration of the memory of the holy warrior Alexander of Rome is used, who, judging by the princely seals, was the heavenly patron of Alexander Nevsky. According to the works of Doctor of Historical Sciences Vladimir Kuchkin, the supposed birthday of the prince is May 13, 1221. Researchers who disagree with this reconstruction point to chronological errors in a number of chronicles and believe that the prince was born in May 1220. This point of view dominated in historiography until the end of the 20th century, so in 1995, in accordance with the decree of Russian President Boris Yeltsin, the 775th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Nevsky was celebrated.
Reign in Novgorod, the Battle of the Neva and the Battle on the Ice
In his youth in 1228-1229 and 1231, Alexander, together with his elder brother Fyodor, replaced their father as governor in Novgorod. His independent reign in this city began in 1236, shortly after the death of his brother. Alexander, with a short break in 1240-1241, remained the Novgorod prince until 1252 (in the Novgorod Republic, the prince did not have full power, but was primarily an invited military leader). In 1239, he built a number of fortifications on the approaches to Novgorod along the Shelon River from the Lithuanian side.
On July 15, 1240, Alexander Yaroslavich, at the head of his squad, detachments of Novgorodians and Ladoga people, defeated the Swedish army. The battle, later known as the Battle of the Neva, took place in the northwestern Novgorod lands at the confluence of the Izhora River and the Neva, where the Swedes planned to build a fortress. According to Russian sources, Alexander Yaroslavich personally fought the leader of the Swedish army, leaving him with a scar on his face with his spear (in 2002, a study of the remains of Birger Magnusson, the ruler of Sweden in 1248-1266, who presumably led the Swedish detachment, recorded a wound mark above his right eye).
In the winter of 1240/1241, as a result of a conflict with the Novgorodians, Alexander Yaroslavich left for Pereyaslavl.
The confrontation between the prince and the Novgorod Republic took place against the backdrop of an offensive on the Novgorod lands by the combined forces of the Bishop of Dorpat and the German knights-crusaders. In 1240 they captured Izborsk and Pskov, Novgorod possessions in the lands of the Chud (Estonians) and Vods (the territory of modern Estonia, parts of the Leningrad and Pskov regions), and built a fortress in Koporye (now in the territory of the Leningrad region). German troops began to threaten Novgorod directly. Under these circumstances, the Novgorodians, who had failed to receive military assistance from other Russian lands, again called on Alexander Yaroslavich. He returned to the city in March 1241. Within a year, the prince took Koporye and drove the Germans out of the northwestern Novgorod lands. In the winter of 1241/1242, Alexander received reinforcements from his father in Vladimir, after which, together with his brother Andrei, he made a campaign to the lands of the Chud (modern Estonia) and liberated Pskov.
On April 5, 1242, in a decisive battle on the ice of Lake Peipus (the Battle on the Ice), Alexander Yaroslavich, who commanded the combined regiments of Novgorodians and Suzdalians, defeated the army of the Livonian Knights' Order and the allied Chud. The victory over the Livonians secured the western borders of the Russian lands from the invasions of the Crusader knights and strengthened the position of Alexander Nevsky in Novgorod. In 1242, a peace treaty was concluded between the order and Novgorod, according to which the Livonians renounced their claims to Pskov and Novgorod lands, released the Pskov hostages and exchanged prisoners.
In the summer of the same year, Prince Alexander defeated Lithuanian troops that were attacking northwestern Russian lands. In 1245, he recaptured Toropets (now a city in the Tver region) from Lithuania, won a victory at Lake Zhiztsa, and routed the Lithuanian militia near Usvyat (now an urban-type settlement in the south of the Pskov region).
Trip to the Horde and Mongolia, negotiations with the Pope
In 1237-1240, the troops of most Russian principalities were routed during the Mongol-Tatar invasion. The princes were forced to acknowledge vassal dependence on the Mongol khans (later on the rulers of the states that formed during the collapse of the Mongol Empire, in particular the Golden Horde). The Mongol-Tatar yoke was established over Russia for 240 years. The main forms of dependence of Rus' were the payment of tribute by the majority of the population, as well as the issuance by the khans of so-called yarlyks (charters) to the princes for the right to occupy both their own appanages and the great principalities of Kiev and Vladimir. The only large region of Rus' that was not captured by the Mongols was the Novgorod Republic. However, its rulers, in particular Prince Alexander Yaroslavich, were forced to recognize the khan's authority.
In September 1246, in the capital of the Mongol Empire, Karakorum (now in the Arahangai aimag of Mongolia), Alexander's father, Grand Duke Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, was poisoned (he was summoned to attend the enthronement of the Great Khan Guyuk). In 1247, at a congress of Russian princes in Vladimir, Alexander's uncle Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich became the Grand Duke, distributing various appanages to his nephews. Alexander additionally received the Tver Principality, while retaining his position in the Novgorod Republic. Alexander's younger brother, Andrei Yaroslavich, dissatisfied with the division, went to the Horde to Khan Batu (in 1242-1256 he governed the lands to the west of the Ural River conquered by the Mongol-Tatars) in order to obtain the Grand Duchy of Vladimir with his help.
Andrei's actions forced Alexander to go to the Horde as well. However, Batu did not independently decide the issue of Andrei and Alexander's possessions, but sent them to the Khan's court in Karakorum. Here in 1249, Alexander received Kyiv (at that time almost completely destroyed by the Mongols) and the entire Russian land as his inheritance, i.e. he was nominally recognized as the eldest of the princes. At the same time, the main principality of North-Eastern Rus' - Vladimir - went to his younger brother Andrei Yaroslavich. Alexander Yaroslavich did not go to Kyiv, but continued to rule in Novgorod.
In 1248, Pope Innocent IV sent two messages to Alexander Yaroslavich. He sought to expand his influence in Rus' in the context of the Mongol-Tatar invasion. He offered military assistance against the Mongols in exchange for the conversion of Russian lands to Catholicism (while maintaining Orthodox rites), admission of the crusaders to Rus', and recognition of the supreme authority of the Roman pontiff. Prince Alexander rejected this offer and later did not renew contacts with Rome. According to modern researchers, the prince's decision was determined not only by religious considerations. Using the example of the Baltics, Alexander saw that the crusaders were not distinguished by tolerance and sought complete subordination and assimilation of the annexed peoples (unlike the Mongols, who were content with recognizing vassalage and paying tribute). In addition, he knew that the Galicia-Volyn Prince Daniil Romanovich, who agreed to recognize the authority of the Pope, did not receive any military assistance from Innocent IV. Alexander also knew that the actual ruler of Sweden, Birger, had received the blessing of the Roman Church the day before to conquer central Finland, which was within Novgorod's sphere of influence.
Obtaining the Grand Duchy of Vladimir
In 1251, Khan Munke (Mengu), Batu's protégé, ascended the throne in Karakorum and cancelled all the decrees of his predecessors. This forced the Russian princes to reaffirm their right to rule in their principalities. In 1252, Alexander Yaroslavich went to the Horde, where he received a label for the Grand Duchy of Vladimir. Alexander's younger brother, Andrei Yaroslavich, refused to go "to the Tatars", fearing that the new khan would perceive him as a protégé of the previous rulers of Karakorum. Hoping that a change of ruler in the Mongol Empire would weaken the invaders, Andrei raised an uprising against the Mongols.
However, his calculations did not come true. To suppress the uprising, Batu sent troops to Russia led by "Tsarevich" Nevryuy ("Nevryuy's army"), who ravaged Pereyaslavl and its surrounding area. Andrei was forced to flee to Sweden. Some researchers, relying on unreliable information from the 18th-century historian Vasily Tatishchev, cited Alexander Yaroslavich's complaint against Batu's brother as the reason for sending Nevryuy's punitive expedition. However, such a complaint is not mentioned in any original medieval source. Later, Alexander continued to maintain friendly and allied relations with Andrei, allocating the Suzdal principality to him as an inheritance.
In the winter of 1256-1257, Alexander Yaroslavich undertook his last military campaign - to central Finland against the Yemi tribe, subordinate to the Swedes.
The last years of his life
From the mid-1250s, the Mongol authorities extended the general system of taxation of the conquered lands to Russia, for which a head-to-head census of the population was organized. In 1257, special officials - "chislenniki" - were sent to Novgorod and other Russian cities to conduct it. Their appearance caused an uprising of Novgorodians, supported by the son and governor of Alexander Nevsky, Prince Vasily. Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavich brutally suppressed the uprising, executing its most active participants, and appointed his other son, Dmitry, as the new Novgorod governor. Modern historiography notes that the actions of Alexander Yaroslavich were dictated by his conviction that direct military confrontation with the Mongol Empire was impossible for Russia.
In the early 1260s, the unified Mongolian state ceased to exist, the Horde (from the 16th century - the Golden Horde) became a sovereign power, the conflict of its rulers with the former center of the empire in Karakorum intensified. Under these conditions, in 1262, Alexander Yaroslavich supported the uprisings in Russian cities against the baskaks (imperial officials representing the interests of Karakorum) and Turkic merchants who had acquired the right to collect tribute. The prince sent out letters to the cities calling for "beating the Tatars."
In the same year of 1262, the Horde Khan Berke demanded a military recruitment among the inhabitants of Russia for a campaign against Persia (now Iran). To prevent the implementation of this plan, Alexander Nevsky went to the Horde with gifts. The prince managed to dissuade Berke from carrying out mobilization in the Russian lands, but the khan detained Alexander Yaroslavich in the Horde for several months. There, the Grand Duke fell seriously ill. Some historians suggest that, like his father, Alexander Yaroslavich was poisoned by the Mongols. On November 14, 1263, in Gorodets on the Volga (now Gorodets, Nizhny Novgorod Region), on the way to Vladimir, the prince took monastic vows in the highest degree – the great schema with the name Alexy, and died by the evening of the same day. On November 23, the prince's body was brought to Vladimir and buried in the Nativity of the Mother of God Monastery in the presence of a large crowd of people.
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